[Na/K transport in red blood cells from severely burned patients (author's transl)]

The working of the Na/K pump in the red cells of 6 patients with extensive burns was analyzed using radioactive substances with the aim of comparing their red cells with those of 20 normal subjects. In the red cells of patients with extensive burns was found that the intracellular sodium concentration was clearly increased, that the rate constant of ouabain-sensitive efflux diminished, and that the total sodium efflux was augmented by the increase of the ouabain-insensitive part. It is likely that the intra and extra-cellular transportation defects produce an accumulation of sodium inside the cell which succeeds in stimulating the activity of the pump. Although this pump is impaired, the high sodium concentration obtains a new steady state characterized by apparently normal ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux and by an increased ouabain insensitive efflux. The pathogenesis of these defects of cellular homeostasis which are linked to the presence of various complex mechanisms (shock, calorie balance, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, the circulation of "toxic substances" etc), in cases of extensive burns, has not been completely elucidated.